Satine's Sacrifice
by Melanippe
Summary: Almost a year after Satine's death, her sister has returned to find everything she had known gone. Satine's sister must deal with the pain and loss, and learn that Satine's sacrifice was not in vain.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I, sadly, do not own the rights to Moulin Rouge, nor do I claim any. The plot in this fic is created by me, so no usurping, please! Thank you!  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Satine's Sacrifice  
  
By: Melanippe  
  
The sun was glaring down the Parisian streets. The roads were surprisingly quiet, something a woman dressed in a gray with a scarf covering her head, noticed immediately. She clutched her four year old daughter to her and glanced nervously around. The ground was littered and dirty, the buildings surrounding the area, old, worn and in disrepair. The two hurried down an alleyway and emerged beyond it. The woman continued through the many turns, and twists, her movements revealing someone who had traveled these streets before. As she reached the last turn in her journey, the place that had haunted the woman's dreams since she was fifteen came into view: The Moulin Rouge.  
  
Yet as Sandrine Delacourt moved toward the building, she noticed something that her over-anxious mind had not noticed before. The stone wall that surrounded the Moulin Rouge was covered in flyers and posters. The massive door that lead into the courtyard and beyond it, the dance hall was closed with an iron lock, and a large sign that read 'CLOSED' in bold red letters. Sandrine frowned. She could see the Diamond's elephant over the stone wall, but she saw no one there. She moved to stand in front of the doors and peered through crack in the middle. The courtyard was deserted with paper and trash covering the ground.  
  
"Mama," the child said, her voice fatigued. "What happened to this place?"  
  
Sandrine looked into the place she had escaped almost ten years ago...but not without help. "I don't know Saline. But we are going to find out, come on." Sandrine grabbed her daughter's hand and together they made their way toward the back of the dance hall. In the back, the stone wall rose higher, and underneath, were several iron grates, all rusted with age. Sandrine paused and began counting from the end of the wall. She smiled and moved toward one of the grates. The grate moved out of place easily, but was quite heavy. After several seconds of huffing and straining, Sandrine managed to move the grate aside, and looked over to her daughter. The child stared at her mother, who smiled. "Lucky number twelve bars. We always snuck in and out this way."  
  
Sandrine helped her daughter enter first, then managed to squeeze her frame through. Standing, Sandrine dusted off the dirt from her and Saline's clothes. Taking Saline's hand, they strode away from the walk and toward the front of the Moulin Rouge dance hall. As they strolled, Sandrine felt the memories of this place wash over her like an all- consuming wave of both pleasure and pain. So many memories here. Not all of them good. Several of them torture. But there was always a light in this place. Now, ten years later, the place seemed more dead than a tomb.  
  
The front steps of the Moulin Rouge came into view. "Stay here Saline," her mother told her, as she rushed up the steps and peered into the large room. What she saw before her was not the Moulin Rouge she had always known. No, there was a large open area, and beyond it, a stage with a dusty red curtain. Balconies and drapes aligned the second floor. Sandrine simple stared. "What happened here?" She turned her back on the room. "What the HELL happened here?"  
  
She looked up and her confused gaze fell on the giant elephant. Her face lit up in a smile. Unlike the other parts of the worn building, it still looked somewhat clean. Without a thought, Sandrine raced toward the elephant, her daughter following clowly behind. She climbed the steps two at a time and burst open the bedchamber doors. "Hello? Hello?" The room smelled of dust and stale perfume. The bed was unused, the room was dank and looked unlived in. Sandrine sat down on the end of the circular bed, fanning her hand in front of her, as a dust cloud rose from where she sat. "I don't understand."  
  
Saline entered the room, and with the wonder of a child, gazed at the contents. "Wow. This place must have looked beautiful."  
  
"It was beautiful," Sandrine murmured. "When she was in it." Sandrine put her head in her hands, and cried.  
  
Saline moved to her mother and placed her hands on her mother's head. Saline gently removed the scarf, and watched as flame-like hair flowed out and around Sandrine's face. "Everything will be okay mother. I promise."  
  
Sandrine looked up at her daughter, and the tears returned. She hugged her child to her fiercely, while Saline stroked her mother's fiery red hair.  
  
"What are you two doing in here?" A familiar deep and annoyed voice asked.  
  
Mother and daughter looked over to the door. A heavy set man with a red beard and beer gut looked at them. The man's eyes clouded, as recognition clicked. "Sandrine?"  
  
The woman stood up, her painfully beautiful face streaked with tears, but still she smiled. "Yes Zidler. I am back."  
  
Zidler eyed the girl he helped raise, sadly. "If only you had come earlier, you could have been spared being told all this."  
  
"Told all what? What is going on Zidler? What has happened to the Moulin Rouge? Where is the Diamond? Tell me where she is?" Sandrine demanded, her voice rising shrilly.  
  
"Satine is," Zidler paused and swallowed back the tears that threatened. "Your sister," he muttered quietly, "Is dead."  
  
************************************************************************  
  
A/N: Okay. Please review. Thank you. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I, sadly, do not own the rights to Moulin Rouge, nor do I claim any. The plot in this fic is created by me, so no usurping, please! Thank you!  
  
*******************************************************  
  
Sandrine stared at Zidler, her eyes wide with expressions of horror. "If this is a joke Zidler, it was said in the worst taste."  
  
Zidler's expression of seriousness deepened. "Satine died last year. It was consumption."  
  
Sandrine sat back on the bed slowly. "No. NO. I finally come back for her and she is dead! No. It's just not possible. Fate would not be so cruel."  
  
Zidler moved to the mantle over the fireplace and stared up at his reflection in the mirror.  
  
Sandrine looked up. "What of the Moulin Rouge? Why is it empty?"  
  
"Satine got her chance to be an actress. But in order to do so, the Moulin Rouge was given to the Duke...on opening night, your sister and her lover defied him. He has made it so that The Moulin Rouge will die along with Satine."  
  
"Lover?" Sandrine asked.  
  
"A writer, named Christian. He wrote the script for the play we preformed. Satine...she loved him," Zidler responded.  
  
Sandrine slumped forward. "Love?" She rose in anger. "LOVE? How could you have let that happen?"  
  
Zidler's mouth opened and closed.  
  
"A whore can not love! You said it yourself Harry! We are here to lift our skirts and give men a good show. Love is a convenience for the fortunate." Sandrine's chest rose and fell. She blinked her eyes furiously to hold back the tears in her eyes. "I promised I would come back for her. She was the reason I was free from this place."  
  
Zidler frowned. "She died from consumption. Be content to know that she died knowing love."  
  
Sandrine laughed bitterly. "It is not love that I blame for this." She walked toward the balcony and looked to the side at the building that she had grown up in. "I blame the Moulin Rouge."  
  
******************************************************  
  
A/N: Short chapter. Please R/R and tell me what you think. 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I, sadly, do not own the rights to Moulin Rouge, nor do I claim any. The plot in this fic is created by me, so no usurping, please! Thank you!  
  
******************************************************  
  
Sandrine's brain slowly wakened, the noise of the streets filling her mind. She opened her eyes quickly and glanced around. A panic rose in her heart until she saw a mass of black curls escaping from under the covers beside her in the bed. The memories of the day before came flooding back to her. Zidler had brought them here, to a crumbling hotel used temporarily as a make-shift whore house for the Moulin Rouge girls. Sandrine pulled down the covers and checked her daughter's face. Saline was resting peacefully, something Sandrine wished she could do.  
  
She rose from the bed and walked to the only window in the room, located beside the bed, bathing the room with morning light. The streets below were active, vendors moving around barking out so the people could know what they had to offer. Sandrine whirled around as the door to her small room was opened. Surprised cold blue eyes scanned the room. When the woman's gaze came to rest on Sandrine, she laughed. Sandrine just straightened and looked over at the woman disinterestedly.  
  
"Well m'dear, wot have we 'ere?"  
  
Sandrine crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't know Nini, what do we have here?"  
  
Nini chuckled and entered the room, closing the door behind her. Sandrine shifted angrily, her face unwelcoming. Nini ignored it. "I thinks we have the Diamond's lil sister back from the dead...or is it back from the arms o' polite society?"  
  
Sandrine looked out the window. "I wouldn't know. Polite seems to small a word for what I have come from."  
  
Nini laughed. "Well, 'tis good to have you 'ome." The older woman crossed the room and gave Sandrine a hug. Sandrine's eyes widened in surprise and confusion. Nini was never this affectionate towards anyone, especially anyone related to Satine.  
  
Nini held Sandrine at arm's length, then glanced over at the bed. A grin spread on her face, as a sleepy Saline sat up in bed. Saline slowly rubbed her eyes, and smiled up at Nini as the older woman squealed in delight. "An' who's this pretty lil child?"  
  
"My name is Saline ma'am," the little girl replied, holding out her hand. "Saline Delacourt. And you are?"  
  
Nini looked over at Sandrine, an amused smile on her face. "'ow sweet is this?" Nini put her hand in Saline's. "The name's Nini, just Nini. Don't be callin' me ma'am or nothin'. I ain't got no illusions that I is what I ain't."  
  
Saline looked puzzled, but didn't question. "If you want m-I mean, Nini."  
  
Nini turned away from the girl and approached Sandrine again. "I suppose you 'eard the news."  
  
Sandrine nodded, swallowing painfully.  
  
"I am sorry m'dear. But your sister didn't die alone. And soon, maybe one of us Moulin Rouge girls can win back the deed for the place from the Duke."  
  
Sandrine frowned. "This Duke...is he still around here?"  
  
Nini nodded. "Oh yeah, he lives up dere in a bleeding castle beside the Moulin Rouge. He hopes to have the Moulin Rouge destroyed soon, but me and the girls have got better idea, that we do."  
  
Sandrine looked at Nini closely, her mind reeling with possibilities. "Zidler said that my sister defied the Duke. What did he mean?"  
  
Nini frowned sadly. "Well, the Duke fancied 'emself in love with Satine. He felt that only he could have her. When she chose Christian over 'em, he evicted us out, and told us never to return."  
  
Both woman looked toward the door as it burst open. Marie stood in the doorway, her elderly form braced against it for support. There were tears in her eyes as she rushed over to Sandrine and hugged her. Marie pulled away and took Sandrine's face in her hands, examining every part, almost as if she didn't believe what she was seeing. "You have returned," Marie whispered.  
  
"Yes," Sandrine replied, barely able to hold back tears. Her voice was harsh with emotion. "I have returned to you...and to the Moulin Rouge."  
  
Marie's tears fell freely then. She glanced to the bed and her whole face crinkled in an expression of surprise and delight. "Who is this beautiful little girl?"  
  
Saline had been watching the whole exchange with an expression of awe in her adorable grey eyes. She rose to her feet on the bed and that almost made her at eye level with Marie. "I'm Saline Delacourt, Ms. Marie."  
  
"My daughter," Sandrine added.  
  
Marie eyed the girl carefully, which made Saline fidget nervously. Then Marie's face broke out in a grin, and Saline grinned back. "She is beautiful Sandrine. She will be quite a woman when she grows up."  
  
Sandrine felt a shiver go down her spine, and she crossed to stand in front of Marie and Nini, blocking her daughter from their view. "Where is Zidler?"  
  
Marie's smile faded somewhat. "He is downstairs, preparing the hall for the girls."  
  
"Good. Please go tell him that I want to speak with him. I will be down shortly." She turned away, and picked up her daughter. Turning back she held her daughter in her arms possessively, eyeing the two woman defiantly. Her actions spoke words that the two older women did not misunderstand. "Thank you," Sandrine told them, dismissing them with a nod of her head toward the door.  
  
Marie moved reluctantly away, while Nini stayed back for a moment. "Good work m'dear. Don't worry, your daughter is safe from becoming one of us. After all, you know just as all of us, what the life of a whore can be." Then she was gone, closing the door after her.  
  
Saline glanced down at her mother, confused. "What did she mean mother?"  
  
Sandrine's face was dark with anger. "Nothing," she snapped. Catching herself before she said things she would regret, she put her daughter back on the ground. "Get dressed, we are going to visit Mr. Zidler again."  
  
"Mama, when are we going to see Daddy again?" Saline asked innocently, putting her slip over her head. She didn't see her mother freeze, or her eyes widen with panic. By the time Saline had the slip completely over her body, Sandrine was dressing herself calmly.  
  
"Don't you worry about that sweeting. Put on your dress."  
  
Five minutes later, both the Delacourts stood at the bottom of the stairs, searching the massive room for the red headed Zidler. Sandrine spotted him by the stage and pushed her way toward him, her daughter protectively held at her side.  
  
"Harry!"  
  
Harold Zidler turned at the sound of his name, and his face lit with a smile. "Ah, Sandrine! Feeling better now I hope?"  
  
"Yes, but-"  
  
"Just wait until you see tonight's performance. The hall is not as big as you might be used to-"  
  
"But Harry-"  
  
"-but I am sure we will manage."  
  
"ZIDLER!"  
  
"Yes my dear?" Harry asked.  
  
"I came down here to talk to you about an important matter."  
  
"Oh?" Harry asked, his tone intrigued. He took them over to a secluded table, far from the loud noise of the center room. "What is it my dear?"  
  
Sandrine sat Saline beside her, making sure she was comfortable. "I want to know more about this Duke."  
  
Harry's face twisted into an expression of confusion mingled with loathing at the mention of the Duke's name. "Whatever for?"  
  
"Simple. You want the Moulin Rouge back, and the Duke has the deeds."  
  
Harry frowned. "Yes, this is true, but I don't understand what you are getting at."  
  
Sandrine sat back in her seat, laying her hands on the table. "You want the Moulin Rouge back, right?"  
  
"Yes, of course!"  
  
Sandrine smiled. "I know a way you can get it."  
  
****************************************************  
  
A/N: Please R/R! Thanks. Oh, and thank you to EVERYONE who did review! 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Moulin Rouge,' nor do I claim too...  
  
*************************************  
  
Harold Zidler paced back and forth in front of the fireplace, a weary Marie watching him with dispassionate eyes. "I don't like this," Harry said worriedly.  
  
Marie smiled coolly. "Neither do I, but as Sandrine has said, it is the only real choice we have that has any real chance of working. You know it and I know it."  
  
Harry frowned. "She should not have to do this. Just returned to us and she is already being forced to do things that Satine fought to ensure she would never have to do again."  
  
"She hasn't been forced to do anything," Marie snapped impatiently. "This was her idea if you remember. Sandrine is willing to help get the Moulin Rouge back, that is all that should matter!"  
  
"Yes, but-" Harry responded.  
  
"You can't have been willing to sacrifice Satine's happiness in order to keep the Moulin Rouge, and not be willing to do the same with Sandrine to get it back," Marie said angrily.  
  
"Yes, but I realized my mistake...albeit to late, but I at least realized that such a thing could not be asked of Satine," Harry defended.  
  
"How nice for you Harry. You can at least die with a clear conscience, now can't you?" Marie asked sarcastically.  
  
Before Harry could respond, the door beside the small sitting room opened, Nini and several other Moulin Rouge girls walking in, followed closely by a tall figure, dressed in sparkling blue.  
  
Sandrine smiled over at Harry and Marie, a smile any other normal person would have thought was natural. However, there wasn't a person in the room that didn't know that her smile was a smile used by every girl in their line of work...employed to seduce, and a clever disguise for the real emotions playing through Sandrine's head.  
  
"How do I look?" Sandrine asked huskily, turning slowly, so that they all could see her form fitted snuggly into the dress, and white gloved arms.  
  
Harry smiled sadly. "You look...beautiful. Like a sapphire."  
  
Sandrine smiled. "Then that is what I will be...the Diamond is gone, and all that is left is me."  
  
Marie stood up and walked to Sandrine, sweat on her upper lip belying her emotionless face. She handed Sandrine a small cup of a clear liquid. "For your health."  
  
Sandrine raised a brow, but swallowed every drop of the drink, knowing full well what Marie meant. Glancing around the room a final time, she grabbed a long jacket from the stand at the door of the room, and opened the door.  
  
"Sandrine," Harry called out urgently.  
  
Sandrine paused from leaving the run, but kept her back to them. "Yes Harry?"  
  
"You don't have to do this," Harry told her fearfully.  
  
Sandrine looked back. "You are wrong Harry. I must do this. I really must." Her fingers on the door tightened slightly, but her smile widened. "Soon, the Moulin Rouge will be as it should be."  
  
Without another word, she left, closing the door softly behind her.  
  
.....................................  
  
Sandrine walked several paces until she stood inside her room and strolled to the end of the bed. Her daughter's small form lay on it, asleep, and at peace, oblivious to everything that was about to happen. Sandrine removed the jacket from around her body and sat on the bed, laying her body beside her daughters. Gently, so as not to wake her, she caressed Saline's cheek, moving hair out of her face. Placing a soft kiss on her daughter's forehead, she rose, replaced the jacket on her shoulders and marched determinedly out.  
  
......................................  
  
The night was at it's peak, but with all the hustle and bustle around the streets, had you not looked at the sky, you would not have known it. People danced around the streets, selling things, buying things, the dark underworld alive with black fantasies. Sandrine made her way back toward the Moulin Rouge and the Duke's "palace". When the towers of the Duke's territory came into view, Sandrine stopped, and took a deep breath. She resisted the unbecoming urge to be sick, and straightened to her full height. With renewed confidence, she headed straight for the massive doors to the large home, and banged the metal knockers loudly.  
  
**********************************************  
  
A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Sorry I took so long with this chapter! 


End file.
